Chamber Council Programs | Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce

Miami Beach Chamber Council Programs:

Career Shadowing Day:

An annual event hosted by the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the City of Miami Beach in which members take Nautilus Middle and Beach High Students to shadow them for ½ a day at work. Breakfast and lunch is served.

Generally hosted in the spring, this breakfast will be held at the 21st street community center,where the mentors will meet their students. After a half a day of work, lunch will served for the mentor and student at a location in Miami Beach.

Elayne Weisburd Excellence in Education Awards, sponsored by FPL:

Educators from all nine Beach High feeder pattern schools are honored each year, with one teacher chosen as Educator of the Year. This event takes place in late April.

For more information on the Education as Business Council, click here

Emerging Leadership Council

"Quickie" Networkers:

A new program started by the ELC is the “Quickie” Networkers. The networker is setup in a speed-dating style which consists of a quick introduction, after which the business professionals are put into pairs and given two minutes to talk about their business prior to moving to the next person. The networker gives members and guests the opportunity to meet thirty professionals in only one hour.

"The Matters Program"

The Matters Program is a series of luncheons that inform business leaders on strategies and tips to help maximize one’s business. The Matters Program has included subjects such as Hospitality Matters, Branding Matters, Money Matters, Facebook Matters, Etiquette Matters and Guerilla Marketing Matters.

Champions of Business Panel Discussion

As a culmination to the Matters Program, Champions of Business Panel Discussion is an annual panel luncheon that is a forum for attendees to meet and learn from pillars of business from South Florida and beyond. Panelists have included Shareef Malnik, Owner of The Forge, Misha Gomez, Owner of Misha’s Cupcakes, Ricky Arriola, CEO of Inktel, Jill Hertzberg, Broker-Associate of The Jills, Coldwell Banker Real Estate, Barton G. Weiss, Owner of Barton G., Peggy M. Hollander, Founder and Managing Partner of The Succession Group, Dr. Arthur Agatston, Founder of the South Beach Diet, Lisa Pliner, Creative Director of Donald Pliner Shoes and Alan G. Randolph, Past MBCC Chair. This event is held in late July or early August.

For more information on the Emerging Leadership Council, click here

Global Business Access Council

Delegation Trips to Asia:

For the past 5 years, the Global Business Access Council has coordinated delegations to China in order to help facilitate business relations with foreign countries and increase Chinese tourism to Miami Beach. The latest visit was held in Shanghai in October 2010. 25 people joined Jerry Libbin and the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce to meet with dignitaries in Shanghai from places, such as the Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai International Port, World Trade Fair, key individuals from the Art Deco District in Shangahi,and much more.

For more information on the Global Business Access Council, click here

Real Estate Council

Informational Seminars and Workshops:

It is the mission of the Real Estate Council to share expertise and offer guidance to chamber members and realtors around the community. Examples of seminars include Making your property healthy for Freddie and Fannie and a Green Panel workshop that was held to explain the importance of greening your property.

Real Estate Luncheon:

Partnering with the Miami Association of Realtors, this event is open to individuals interested in learning about the upcoming news regarding the real estate market. Panelists are featured to explain their views on the market and provide insightful information for guests. Past topics have included “The New Now - Making Business Happen in South Florida” and “Foreign Investments- What you need to Know. This event is held in September.

For more information on the Real Estate Council, click here

Sustainable Business Council

LEED EB Certification of Chamber Building:

Under the leadership of Kobi Karp, the Council will be working to make the Miami Beach Chamber building at 1920 Meridian Avenue, LEED certified.

Business Development Workshops:

Partnering with the Real Estate Council, the Sustainable Business Council will be working to develop initiatives and workshops throughout the year to help business owners understand the important of sustainability, specifics to be announced as scheduled.

For more information on the Sustainable Business Council, click here

Tourism & Hospitality Council

Trade Show / Tourism Expo:

An expo will be held in the fall with tourism related industries, specifics to be announced.

For more information on the Tourism & Hospitality Council, click here

Women's Business Council

Informational Seminars and Workshops:

The Women’s Business Council hosts different types of events throughout the year to help empower and promote women’s businesses to advance in the community. Men and women both attend and learn how to market to women, enhance your business skills, or empower groups to enhance quality of life and economic growth.

Past events include “Better With Age” and “Shameless Self-Promotion”. Future events possibly include, “Lunch with the View”, and “Wine, Cheese, and Expertise”.

In addition, council meetings include customized networking exercises designed to enhance the meeting attendees’ “self-promotion” skills by giving them tips and strategies for their “30-second commercial” presentation.

For more information on the Women’s Business Council, click here

Get information about Chamber events.

Chamber Experiences

I joined as a Pillar Member less than 1 month ago and have made incredible connections with great people in such a short time. I have also made the 1 year investment back after just 4 weeks. I have been in other chambers and I can say after just 4 weeks, the other 2 chambers I have been involved in do not compare to the Miami Beach Chamber. This is in a class of its own. Looking forward to building long lasting relationships with other members.

Todd Paton, Paton Marketing.

The Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce is something that we seeked out because of its great reputation and ability to connect people and business. We have grown our awareness and company through the Chamber and its many networking functions. We couldn't have worked without the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce.

Michael Mandich, The Beach Channel

Apart from being a warm and welcoming group of people, the Miami Beach Chamber really helped me embrace the world of non-profit organization and community outreach. Through Wendy Unger, I became involved in the Pillar Grant and Scholarship committee, subsequently co-chaired the Miami Beach Chamber Education Foundation, organized a fund raiser, became a judge at the Teacher of the Year Award and also the chair of the City of Miami Beach Service Partnership helping truant students and families...

Madeleine Romanello, Douglas Elliman Florida

Since becoming a member of the association earlier this year I have made great friends and contacts. I have had the opportunity to meet with many of you individually and have gained valuable insight from our meetings. All has been made possible due to the great work you all do for the association and its members like me. I look forward to working more closely with you all in the near future and giving back in any way I can.
Thank you for welcoming me into the family and for your many selfless efforts.
Javi Fernandez, Commercial Insurance Broker.

I am a very happy and grateful Miami Beach Chamber member. The relationships I have built and contacts I have made resulted in the cost of my membership being paid for within the first 3 months of my membership. It is like having an extended sales force merged with a great research team. The chamber staff have directly introduced me to contacts that have rented event space, purchased fitness classes and booked bachelorette parties from us. As a relatively new business IronFlower Fitness has been welcomed very warmly by the chamber and all it's associates. I truly believe it is the best advertising or promotional money you can spend.
Jay Jiggins, IronFlower Fitness

I grew up in Miami Beach and have worked and lived in South Florida since I am a kid! In 2011, when I returned to the area after 4 years on the Florida west coast, I decided to join the Miami Beach Chamber for the first time in my professional life to reconnect with the business community to build new professional relationships in this dynamic, exciting area. This decision has proven to be a huge benefit to my personal and professional life. The chamber staff is top notch, the chamber activity, buzz and opportunities are consistently helping me meet other quality professionals for support and engagement. Miami Beach is a bright spot nationally and a really fun place to be a part of with such a diverse hub for cultural and business activity. I just renewed my membership!
Deborah Shane, DeborahShane.com

The Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce has provided an amazing amount of support for our organization. DECOBIKE launched into dozens of areas of the city and yields benefits for many types of businesses and properties, and communicating effectively with them is a key element to the success of our city-wide bike sharing program. From opening doors and introducing new community stakeholders to our organization and other community outreach, the Chamber has aided this process tremendously. I highly recommend that both new and existing businesses take advantage of this wonderful networking and support organization.
Colby Reese, Chief Marketing Officer DECOBIKE

In My Opinion, Miami Beach chamber of commerce is the most powerful chamber I have associated with in my over quarter of a century doing business in the Miami area. In spite of the fact that I live and do business in Coconut Grove, I find that my affiliation with Miami Beach chamber of commerce is a must. The sheer number of events and committees that are part of the chamber is amazing. Many of these events are free and those that are not are very reasonably priced in contrast with many of the other chambers in my area. The Staff are so accommodating , helpful and friendly, so going to the chamber for me is like visiting friends and family. Many of the contacts that I have made with the membership have not only impacted my business, but have evolved into personal relationships. In a few words, my affiliation with this chamber has been a life changing event. I cannot recommend membership to this chamber enough.
Captain Asaad, Sailing Vessel RA

In 2006 I created the Sicilian Film Festival, a non profit corporation dedicated to cinema and culture. It has not been easy to grow up this creature for 6 years. I joined the MBCC only in 2011 and suddenly I discovered a great group of people and a kind of "family" where to share needs and experiences and where to brainstorm with interesting people and entrepreneurs of all kinds several times a week with great results. I should have joined the MBCC before!
Emanuele Viscuso, Sicilian Film Festival

When DEALtificate expanded it's localized daily deals to Miami Beach we joined the chamber as a Pillar Member. We were so impressed by the the staffs eagerness to offer any assistance at their disposal to help our company grow. They worked with us to better understand the Miami Beach market and with that information we were able to achieve a six figure sales increase in less than a year. We have also made great business relationships with other chamber members through the great workshops and events the chamber hosts regularly. Kudos to the leadership and staff of the Miami Beach Chamber.
Will Furry, Dealtificate

The Miami Beach Chamber is an essential starting point for anyone looking to do business in Miami Beach, or the surrounding community. Since joining the Pillar Trustee level, I have been able to form relationships with high level people that I more than likely would never have had an opportunity to meet. Through the different types of events, the Miami Beach Chamber provides the exact audience that perhaps you are looking to target and their sponsorship opportunities create the venue to put you in the spotlight. Of course the chamber only works for you, if you work it, but if you put in the time and remain consistent, then you will no doubt reap the rewards and make great friendships and have a good time along the way.
Benton Launerts, President and Founder, Parksman Parking, LLC

We joined the Chamber a few months ago and we could not be more satisfied with the results.Their Membership Relations Manager, Mrs. Wendy Unger, did a terrific job for us by contacting all members we were interested in.This resulted in many new accounts, many prospects of new accounts and a lot of exposure for Doctor Aromas. Besides that we also took advantage of many of their courses and seminars, which usually are free for members. You can't go wrong by joining the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce.
Rolando Epstein, Doctor Aromas

The benefits that the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce provides its Pillar Members in my humble opinion is extremely valuable and I am proud to be a member of this organization. There are enormous opportunities I gained in participating in the "Doing Business with Brazil" Breakfast which led to me attended a member's trade mission to explore commerce between Brazil and Miami Beach. I was fortunate to meet high level industry insiders, professionals and city officials from the various cities that welcomed the mission and were eager and prepared to assist or participate in doing business on various levels. The number of contacts that I made were 46 contacts, all established through a series of arranged formal and informal meetings and introductions. Since joining the MBCC, I've gone from have no solid clients to having 5 existing clients and 10 potential clients from the Brazil trade mission. Also, I have forged a handful of strategic alliances with other chamber members that can mutually benefit from potential future projects and ventures. A couple of deals are in the pipeline waiting to close, but there is considerable movement in my business.
Troy Fabian, CIAS, Miami Assets Realty

From the beginning I felt the difference in my business and as I became more active the more business that I was receiving the last Luncheon I donated the center pieces --- I received over $3,000 in sales immediately from the ladies that where at the luncheon and saw my arrangements. I would recommend any business owner join the chamber, it pays it self in no time and you make many new business contacts in your community.
Iris Nieves, Edible Arrangements near 70th and Collins Avenue

When I opened my salon in Miami Beach, I joined the chamber and immediately participated in the Miami Beach INcard program, a business stimulus program created by the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce. To date, I am proud to say that over 60% of my business has been created through my participation in the INcard program. Thank you to the chamber staff for their help in opening Chez Badeux Salon and growing my relationships, which led to the opening of my second location, Muse Beauty Suite.
Sabrina Badeaux, Chez Badeaux Salon and Muse Beauty Suite at the Sagamore Hotel

What a pleasure it is to work with Lisa. She is helping us get the word out about us. We are excited about everything we can do with the chamber. She is definitely a keeper!
Claudia Moncarz, Esq., Partner, TOSOLINI, LAMURA, RASILE & TONIUTTI LLP

Thank you to our 2011 Dinner Gala Sponsors

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